I. Technical Field
The present invention relates generally to a polymeric forming tool and, more particularly, to a polymeric forming tool with a plurality of coated microspheres mixed therein.
II. Discussion
In the field of manufacturing and material forming, there is an ever increasing focus on reducing manufacturing cost by increasing tooling durability. Increased tool durability results in decreased machine down time due to tooling changes. This decreased down time means increased machine cycle time and productivity for the manufacturing plant. Also, increased tool durability results in decreased tooling cost due to tooling repair or replacement.
Conventional material forming technology has attempted to address this issue in several ways. In the field of sheet metal stamping, stamping dies have been manufactured from cast zinc. The use of cast zinc has resulted in increased tooling life. However, the raw material cost of zinc and the machining cost of manufacturing stamping dies from zinc has increased the tooling cost to the manufacturer. Cast polymeric tooling has also been used in an attempt to lower the overall tooling cost. Although the cost of polymeric raw material has a lower tooling cost than zinc tooling, the low wear resistance of this material lowers the number of stampings which can be made during the life of the tool which results in increased machine down time. This increases manufacturing cost. The present invention was developed to overcome these drawbacks.